Hey guys im new to the forum. I bought my 310 about 7 months ago from a mechanic friend who restored it. I dont know very much about the classic jdm scene but i am very interested.i thought i would post a few pics of my car to show off this great looking classic and to see if anybody would know good suspension set-ups to lower i some. I know enough about cars to k.ow that cutting or heating springs is a bad idea. Altough i cant figure out how to post pictures on here through my phone. But i can email them if anybody is interested.

Clean 310 you have there! The 310 traditionally hasn't been a highly sought after Datsun so info may be harder to find than other models, but I think they are becoming more popular. And yours is a beautiful example! Welcome!

Thanks fisch. I think your right about the demand for the 310 being on the rise. But i have noticed there a very few still around.

That is how it starts, right! Quiet at first then they start popping up everywhere! When I joined here almost no one noticed the B210, now there is a number of really cool ones with interesting engine swaps. Same for the 411 610 and 710.

You're datsun is also known as a Cherry if you haven't figured it out. It is apart of Nissan's FWD lineage starting with the E10 I think. One of the more interesting ancestors we got in the US was the F-10. Now that is a car waiting for a comeback!

Of the 310 cars my fave is the 310GX which had some really cool back glass!I plan on drawing one one of these days.

Hey guys im new to the forum. I bought my 310 about 7 months ago from a mechanic friend who restored it. I dont know very much about the classic jdm scene but i am very interested.i thought i would post a few pics of my car to show off this great looking classic and to see if anybody would know good suspension set-ups to lower i some. I know enough about cars to k.ow that cutting or heating springs is a bad idea. Altough i cant figure out how to post pictures on here through my phone. But i can email them if anybody is interested.

Welcome Derek~ and nice looking car!

Now, to set your first post on fire (pardon the pun).... Despite what you've been told, there's nothing wrong with cutting springs! [here come the flames] Think the heat will take the temper out of the spring? It sure will~ for the first couple inches adjacent to the cut at best. But that's the part that sits in a saddle, top or bottom, and doesn't do anything or go anywhere. It will not hurt the rest of the spring whatsoever. What WILL change is the spring rate. Because you're still holding up the same weight but have fewer coils, the load on each coil has increased~ effectively making them stiffer. The exception to this is TWC springs~ Taper Wound Closed~ like that on coilovers. Any spring that has a flat saddle needs a flat spring end~ so you'd need a different length/rate spring to accomplish your ride height/capability goals.... Hope this clears things up a bit~

Scott

There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order.

Thank you scott. I would really like to find a coilover setup that would fit my 310 though because my car is my daily and i want to get the looks of a lower stance but maintain the drivability. Also fisch i agree the gx model was certainly a unique model.

Thank you scott. I would really like to find a coilover setup that would fit my 310 though because my car is my daily and i want to get the looks of a lower stance but maintain the drivability. Also fisch i agree the gx model was certainly a unique model.

cut the lower spring mount off at bottom ( even with coil over you will have to do this )and use pipe clamp and adjust original spring up and down..and if you want more lower cut one coil out..That way if you want to put back up you adjust collar higher on strut..

(edit)....or lengthen pipe between collar and lower perch ...to make higher again

So somehow while i was driving back from Eaglerock swap meet i somehow caused YOU to post this,,,, do really think members on this site are that stupid to believe i caused it??

Hey guys im new to the forum. I bought my 310 about 7 months ago from a mechanic friend who restored it. I dont know very much about the classic jdm scene but i am very interested.i thought i would post a few pics of my car to show off this great looking classic and to see if anybody would know good suspension set-ups to lower i some. I know enough about cars to k.ow that cutting or heating springs is a bad idea. Altough i cant figure out how to post pictures on here through my phone. But i can email them if anybody is interested.

If referring to the majority of Datsuns here on Ratsun I'm afraid only one or two are actually JDM. JDM has been co opted by e-Bay to mean any Japanese car or part and this is just plain wrong. Japanese Domestic Market is just that, a car made for sale in Japan. A JDM car (if you are ever lucky enough to see one here in N Am) will have been imported, likely 15-20 years old and have the steering wheel on the right side, and many other things. I'm afraid most Ratsun cars are just classics. Well to their owners and other Ratsun members.

Always glad to see another 310 owner as we don't have nearly enough and thus our knowledge about them is also lacking. Looking forward to hearing more about yours.

There is nothing wrong with cutting a spring to lower the car. The reason many say no is because they cut too much and screwed it up. As long as you go easy and remove a 1/2 or 1/4 coil at a time and stop before going too far you will be fine. Once removed... you can't put it back. As stated, removing a coil will stiffen the spring rate as well as lowering. This is good as you want to reduce the bounce travel on bumps because you are now closer to the ground.

Another thing you can do to improve the damping is replace the oil inside with thicker motorcycle fork oil. It's easy to do.

You can also cut the lower spring mount off and install split collars to make the ride height adjustable.

I replaced my 710 front struts with those from a Maxima station wagon. (or goon as we call em') With a cut off wheel and a few wrenches I cut one coil off, replaced the strut oil and made them adjustable for height for under $50. Read through my build thread for ideas.

Thank you every one for the compliments on the car. Until recently i had been tossing around the idea of selling my 310 and buying a civic because they are so easy to work on and the amount of parts out there for them is rediculous. I know this car probly isnt worth much to the average car buyer but i have really grown attached to it and see that there are others out there with a passion for thier datsuns like me:-)

You will find that the Datsun 310 is far easier to work on than a Civic. For one example: Civic clutch change, remove transmission. 310 clutch change, unbolt cover, unbolt clutch and slip a new one in.

Cut springs are bad if you cut too much off!!! But if you cut a reasonable amount, no worries. Many of us run cut springs. Coilovers won't do anything more for you except let you order varying spring rates out of a catalog. I have coilovers, but all the travel and spring rate mods were not done and it rides terrible.

I saw this on on the CL not to long ago and I must say Derek, you got away with a steal! Like most have already told, that is a really clean car, and I have not seen a clean 210/310 (In my CL anyways) that clean since I found mine. So, which wheels are you running on it right now, the stock or did it come with those black spoke rims? Keep the 310, it's way rare and you'll get more looks with people asking you about your ride than guy with a Honduh Civic!
Can't wait to see what you got planned and word of advice, around these parts, we are pic whores so keep em coming man!

Lonestar i am currently runing my car on my 16" black motegi's. They cut my gas milage by quite a bit but it doesnt bother me cuz i really like the way they look on the car. I do have the original rims. I am missing one hub cover for them though:'( my plans for the car? I actually dont know yet. I know i deffinately want to lower it but still unsure of the best way to do it. I eventually want to throw on some dished out wheels and strech the bead on them. Also might do a little - camber all the way around. I think the coolest thing about my car is that it still has the original dealer licence plate frame:D

The 16s don't cut your gas mileage, but they are actually traveling farther than your odometer reports. So it works out that way on paper. You can change the speedo driven gear in the tranmission to correct that problem.

Well... the 16s might make the car sit up higher and so reduce aerodynamics a bit.